Indonesia’s draft state budget for 2026 (RAPBN 2026) is both ambitious and politically calculated. On paper, it looks disciplined: revenue is targeted at Rp3,147.7 trillion, expenditure at Rp3,786.5 trillion, leaving a deficit of Rp638.8 trillion, or 2.48 percent of GDP—well within the 3 percent fiscal threshold. The government even pledges to reach a balanced budget by 2027–2028. Yet beneath these tidy macroeconomic numbers lies a striking populist agenda—one that risks repeating Indonesia’s old patterns of fiscal politics, while neglecting the country’s digital future. To subscribe please click here
